It begins in the early twentieth century when several pregnant girls meet in a country house for unwed mothers where they have been sent to give birth and have their children adopted.
The girls are never seen by outsiders again, and after lengthy investigation, the police file is left unclosed.
Nearly twenty years pass and professor Owen Smith (Toby Sharpe) and his assistant Amelia Laird (Rebecca Trelease) return to the house to investigate and document the now mythical murder case.
Down by the Riverside went into production in October 2005, and filming began January 2006 in Te Aroha in the Waikato region, New Zealand.
There were production problems that prevented completion until July 2007, when the film was picked up for distribution by Siren Visual Entertainment.